Saturday, January 16, 2016

Foliage follow-up - new!

I didn't plan to post for Foliage Follow-up, but I'm just so excited about the Sansevieria suffruticosa in my new Case Study Planter from Modernica...

I love their agave like shape, sadly I don't think that's going to stick around for the long term (oh well)...

That Tillandisa on the right is also new, both purchased at the Portland Nursery Houseplant Sale which runs through Janurary 27th (30% off). For more foliage excitement visit Pam at Digging, she hosts our foliage-love fest each month.

I too love Sansevierias. They are reminiscent of Agave, but often more asymmetrical, although some develop into fan like shapes (like suffruticosa). Suffruticosa also has very cylindrical leaves, so I would have to say what you've got there is something different. A hybrid is not out of the question either, given so many new creations coming out of Thailand these days. If I had to guess, yours appears to me something more along the lines of S. ehrenbergii or S. perrotii. S. bella and S. suffruticosa are similar, with the latter more conspicuously cross-banded.No matter what, they are lovely plants!

Thank you Tom! I was hoping someone smarter than I would weigh in with thoughts. I'm hoping for a hybrid, although any of the ones you mention would be fine with me too. If more of these unusual types start to make into our local market I can see myself becoming an addict!

These ain't your Momma's Mother-in-Law Tongues anymore! I'm really starting to like all the new varieties, especially since they can go where few other plants can survive along with having good architectural detail! My clients with shade container spots are going to be seeing more of these in the near future.

I have what was sold to me a Sansevieria suffruticosa, which looked similar to yours in its infancy but has taken on entirely new dimensions as it's grown. It pupped heavily at first, then produced a large central flower spike. I cut off the spike when the flowers faded, only to have it develop arms rather like the Hindu god, Shiva.

Those may be something else, as Tom said, though patterning can vary widely depending on conditions and the individual plants. Either way, it definitely looks like juvenile rosettes that will change as they age, like Kris' plant did. I was so tempted by those big Sansevierias in 3-gal pots, but I managed to control myself. I wish there had been more smaller ones. I may have to check back in next week.

Oh yes! I was thinking I might go back again, before the sale is over "just in case." I'd also kind of given myself permission to get one of the big ones, but then when I was there a couple was being super annoying looking them over and evaluating every leaf and angle so I just had to walk away.

Sansevierias worry me (because my sister's dog wound up on life support after chewing on a leaf, ages ago), but I have a yard full of cactus, agave, etc., so maybe I should just get over the Sansevieria hang-up :~/